Palestine says Israel’s UNRWA ban ‘new level in war against UN’

The Israeli parliament or Knesset approved bills on Monday aimed at banning UNRWA from operating in Israel.

UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, as well as surrounding countries.

Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the Knesset’s legislation to ban UNRWA “constitutes a new level in this war against the UN and an integral part of an all-out assault on the Palestinian people”.

He noted how Israel had declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” – and had killed, detained and tortured UN staff and UN peacekeepers.

Mansour noted many countries condemned Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA.

“And yet Israel still sits among us and utilises its seat to incite against the UN … When will the condemnations lead to actions and accountability?” Mansour questioned.

UNRWA has provided essential aid, schooling, and healthcare across the Palestinian territory and to Palestinian refugees elsewhere for more than seven decades.

But since Israel’s war on Gaza began last October, the agency itself has suffered heavy losses, with at least 223 of its staff killed and two-thirds of its facilities in Gaza damaged or destroyed.

Danny Danon, Israel’s representative at the UN, told the Security Council that UNRWA in Gaza has become a front for Hamas, the Palestinian armed group.

Israeli authorities have long called for the agency to be dismantled, arguing that its mission is obsolete and it fosters anti-Israeli sentiment among its staff, in its schools and in its wider social mission. UNRWA strongly disputes this characterisation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in the past also called on the United States, Israel’s top ally and the agency’s biggest donor, to roll back its support.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini called the vote by Israeli lawmakers a “dangerous precedent” and said that it was the latest in an ongoing campaign to discredit the agency and “delegitimise its role towards providing human development assistance and services to Palestine refugees”.

Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA would represent a form of collective punishment for Gaza’s people if fully implemented, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke added.

Russia, China, Qatar, European countries and rights organisations around the world also condemned the vote in the Israeli parliament.

The Security Council session came as Israel continued its bombardment of the besieged enclave.

“Israel has crossed every red line, broken every rule, defied every prohibition. When is enough really enough? When are you going to act? You are the Security Council. You have to reach every single one who is in pain among the Palestinians. That is your duty,” Mansour stressed at the UN Security Council meeting.

“By ending impunity and ensuring accountability, by finally bringing to an end this terrible injustice, let your actions match your words. Stop this genocide or forever remain silent.”